LCC's Dangerous Junction's Campaign

Tony Devenish: The London Cycling Campaign’s Dangerous Junctions Campaign lists 22 dangerous junctions in Inner London. Will you update the Assembly on what TfL is doing to deal with each of these junctions, including when you expect those junctions to be safe?

The Mayor: In my recently published Vision Zero Action Plan progress report, I set out that the Safer Junctions programme has improved 43 dangerous junctions in London so far. These are junctions where high numbers of people have been killed or injured while walking, cycling or riding motorcycles. Since Transport for London’s (TfL’s) improvements at these locations, there has been a reduction in collisions of 23 per cent overall, and by 30 per cent for vulnerable road users (18 month’s data, to December 2020).
I am pleased to say that since the report has been published, and despite constrained delivery as a result of the pandemic and limited funding, TfL has completed initial improvements at one additional junction - Battersea Bridge/Cheyne Walk. More improvements to further dangerous junctions are subject to a long-term funding agreement with the Department for Transport.

Cycleway 9 (1)

Tony Devenish: Please disclose the data used to support your claim that C9 will be “safer” than the status quo.

The Mayor: Hammersmith Gyratory, a key part of Cycleway 9, has been a casualty hotspot for cyclists for some time. Data from the Metropolitan Police shows that, in the three-year period to December 2020, there were 30 collisions on the gyratory of which five involved cyclists.
Currently, there is no infrastructure for safer cycling at this busy location, which creates a hostile and intimidating environment for people cycling and leaves them vulnerable to collisions with motor traffic. Roads and some local crossings are also difficult to navigate on foot. This new infrastructure will give people walking and cycling more space and give people confidence to travel safely.
Working with colleagues in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Transport for London will be monitoring the safety data throughout the life of the experimental traffic order to ensure that this scheme achieves the ambition of making this location safer for cyclists

Cycleway 9 (2)

Tony Devenish: What safety assessments have been done prior to implementation of C9?

The Mayor: Casualty data from the Metropolitan Police highlights that the Cycleway 9 corridor is a significant casualty hotspot for cyclists. There were 30 collisions on the Hammersmith Gyratory in the three-year period to December 2020, of which five involved cyclists.
The designs for the experimental cycle scheme at Hammersmith Gyratory, which has just started in construction, have undergone an independent road safety assessment. The designs follow TfL’s cycling design guidance as well as national standards. I look forward to this junction being made much safer for cycling very soon.

Housing Costs: Utilities (2)

Sem Moema: What support are you providing to help Londoners currently in arrears with their utilities?

The Mayor: My Warmer Homes Advice Service is available to all low income Londoners for support with energy and water bills. We recently promoted this through social media in response to the price rises. It offers advice on:
Where London Power customers are struggling with debt, the customer service team can refer households to the Warmer Homes Advice Service for this support. In addition to providing Warm Home Discounts, London Power allows households to change payment dates to manage their budget and provides emergency credit when required, to ensure no one goes off supply.

ULEZ Boundary

Nicholas Rogers: How was the decision reached to draw the ULEZ boundary inside the North Circular next to Ikea Wembley?

The Mayor: The expansion of the ULEZ is vital in helping London to achieve the minimum standard of legal compliance for nitrogen dioxide as soon as possible and will set us on track to meet the more stringent health-driven World Health Organization guidelines, allowing millions more Londoners to breath clean air.
A number of principles guided the design of the boundary, including ensuring drivers on all approaches have the ability to avoid entering the zone in a safe manner and ensuring drivers are not forced into the zone in order to access a destination that is outside of the zone.
The IKEA at Wembley is north of the North Circular Road and outside the expanded ULEZ. The boundary in this area aligns with these principles.
To access the IKEA at Wembley from the North Circular Road – which is not part of the expanded ULEZ – vehicles are required to exit the road to a section of the B4557 to the south side, before immediately looping back under the North Circular to the north side.
If this small loop of the B4557 were included within the expanded ULEZ boundary, drivers would be forced into the zone to access a destination that is outside of the zone – contrary to one of the principles that guided the design of the boundary.

Kings Cross Gyratory (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide a detailed cost analysis of the redevelopment work to introduce a 20mph zone on A501 Pentonville Road, Penton Rise, Swinton Street and Gray’s Inn Road by October 2022.

The Mayor: In my recently published Vision Zero Action Plan progress report I set out that a further 140km of the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) will be reduced to 20mph, and Transport for London (TfL) has already started work to progress this. Between December 2021 and March 2022, TfL will reduce speeds across the remaining TLRN in the City of Westminster.
The A501 corridor will follow - however, as this work has not yet moved to the design stage there is no detailed cost estimate at the present time. Progression of lower speeds on this corridor is dependent on a long-term funding allocation from the Department for Transport, and subsequent prioritisation of projects within the Healthy Streets programme (depending on the level of funding allocated).

Rising estimated cost of the Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf pedestrian and cycle bridge (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: Has TfL undertaken any cost comparison between its final estimate of the Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf pedestrian and cycle bridge and the Pont Chaban-Delmas bridge in Bordeaux, which can rise to 53m above water to let tall ships through, has a central lift span of 117 metres and was reported to have cost 160 million Euros when it opened in 2013? How can a lifting bridge of such size, which also carries cars, be built for a quarter of the estimated cost of the Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf pedestrian and cycle bridge?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is aware of and has considered lessons from the Jacques Chaban-Delmas bridge in Bordeaux as part of its development of the Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf bridge. TfL regularly benchmarks developing proposals against other projects. It has not, however, undertaken a direct cost comparison with the final estimate and will not be doing so given the status of the project and the challenges and limitations in such an exercise.
It is notoriously difficult to establish the full costs of major construction projects on completion, particularly international projects. TfL’s cost estimates for Rotherhithe-Canary Wharf include all the costs of constructing the bridge, including design and management costs, enabling works, utilities, land acquisition, compensation and planning costs and a number of other ‘development’ costs. It is not clear what costs are covered by the 160 million Euros quoted above. For example, TfL’s estimates include appropriate inflation allowances that would need to be applied to costs of the Pont Chaban-Delmas bridge, which was completed in 2013. Since that time there have been significant increases to the costs of construction and materials.
Importantly, the requirements of this bridge compared with Rotherhithe-Canary Wharf are substantially different. For example, the main span of the Pont Chaban-Delmas bridge is significantly shorter. This is why the costs of this bridge could be materially different to a bridge across the Thames between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf, and why it is not appropriate to undertake a direct cost comparison.

Affordable housing

Emma Best: In answer to my question 2021/4472 on affordable house building, you suggested under your leadership there had been 72,000 affordable housing starts since 2016. Could you detail how you arrived at this figure, as this appears to include 7,189 homes started under the previous Mayor in 2015/16?

The Mayor: 2015/16 starts are included because as agreed with Government, the Mayor secured funding from Government over the period 2015-2021, including allocated funding which was re-negotiated from the previous programme - See MD2125

Social Care Agencies London Living Wage

Emma Best: How do you intend to encourage more social care agencies to pay the London Living Wage?

The Mayor: Since becoming Mayor, I have been encouraging London employers in all sectors, including social care agencies, to do the right thing and pay all their staff at least the London Living Wage. The number of Living Wage accredited employers has more than quadrupled since I became elected in 2016.
There is still work to do, however, with 25-30% of social care jobs in London being paid below the London Living Wage rate.
I encourage social care agencies to use the Living Wage Foundation’s Social Care Toolkit, which gives adult social care providers and local authorities commissioning care the tools they need to do what’s right for care workers and provide a real Living Wage
The London as a Living Wage City programme is seeking to understand pay in the social care sector in more detail and take actions to increase uptake of the Living Wage.

Social Care Agencies Good Work Standard (1)

Emma Best: How do you intend to encourage more social care agencies to sign up to the good work standard with only two agencies in the whole of London currently signed up?

The Mayor: Two social care agencies have signed up to the Good Work Standard: Penrose Care and Silver Birch Care. This is less than 1% of the social care agencies in London.
Social care workers have been vital in our response to the pandemic, but too many experience poor working conditions. I call on all social care employees to review where they can improve their employment practices, and those leading by example in the sector to pursue Good Work Standard accreditation.
Social care is a priority of the London as a Living Wage City programme. We are seeking to understand pay and good work more broadly in the social care sector, so that actions can be taken to improve employment practices, including pay.

Online Fraud

Tony Devenish: For each year Dec 15 to Nov 16, Dec 16 to Nov 17, Dec 17 to Nov 18, Dec 18 to Nov 19, Dec 19 to Nov 20 and Dec 20 to Nov 21 how many instances of online fraud were reported in London?

The Mayor: This information is not held by the MPS. Information related to fraud is published by Action Fraud:
https://colpolice.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/60499304565045b0bce05d2ca7e1e56c
It should be noted that the Office for National Statistics also publish total fraud and computer misuse offences by Police force area as part of the ‘Crime in England and Wales’ publications each quarter. This information can be found on Table P11 of the dataset via the following link:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/policeforceareadatatables

PR Hits for London Brands

Tony Devenish: At COP26, whatever one thinks of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, she scored a public relations hit by having US Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez photographed plugging a can of Scotland’s Irn-Bru. In your 5 years as Mayor of London, when have you achieved something similar for a London iconic brand?

The Mayor: As Mayor, I work alongside iconic London brands to showcase the best of London. This involves working closely with London’s businesses, sports brands and iconic cultural organisations, encouraging Londoners to visit them safely throughout the pandemic.
Since 2018, I have worked with Apple to help tackle violence affecting young people by providing skills workshops for those who need it most. 6,000 youngpeople have attended these workshops so far with 93.9% saying they felt confident about their career afterwards.
In September 2020, amidst the pandemic I worked with The Championships Wimbledon to invite key workers to enjoy a special day of tennis on Championship courts as a thank you for their crucial role in keeping Londoners safe. 80 key workers from the NHS, TfL and Ambulance services attended and a wider message of thanks was sent through media coverage.
On Christmas Eve 2019, I worked with brands such as Bloomberg, Deliveroo, IKEA and B&Q to provide services to homeless Londoners at a special event at City Hall. 100 guests attended and £31,240 was raised in donations for London’s youth homelessness services as a result ofpress coverage and promotion following the event.

Recycling

Tony Devenish: Will you agree to front up a London recycling campaign considering the capital is the worst region in the country for recycling?

The Mayor: Although London has the lowest ‘household’ recycling rate of any English region with a 2020/21 rate of 33% against a national rate of 42.8% it was one of only two regions to show year on year annual increase in recycling between 2016 and 2020. The most recent Defra data shows London experienced a 0.5% decrease in recycling against a drop of 1.5% in the national figure in the last year which includes the impact of the pandemic and lockdowns.
Through ReLondon and working with London’s boroughs, I am already delivering a London recycling campaign called London Recycles. The campaign runs year-round with useful information for residents about effective recycling of all materials including food. It runs a website as well as several other elements of comms and engagement including social media, creation of borough assets and toolkits, and recurring events such as recycle week and a Christmas campaign. It also runs specific individual campaigns such as ‘One Bin is Rubbish’ that reached 3.85 million Londoners through social media.
All the toolkits and media assets are made available to all boroughs and waste authorities to communicate with their residents.
London Recycles has recently launched a new London-wide advertising campaign, ‘Be that person’. This highlights how recycling can reduce carbon emissions and encourages younger Londoners in particular to recycle as part of their efforts to act on the climate crisis as they have been identified as the worst recycling demographic. The campaign is scheduled to run until March 2023.

London Power

Tony Devenish: Given the recent news that certain energy providers have gone bust - please can you confirm that London Power is still financially sound?

The Mayor: Since London Power launched in January 2020, 32 other energy providers have failed due to the volatile energy markets. I set up London Power as a partnership with an existing energy supplier as it was less risky, less costly and faster than starting from scratch. Current events have shown I was right to take that course.
I have confidence in our partner Octopus Energy as a financially stable company with a prudent hedging strategy. They are required by our contract with them to provide a monthly statement certifying their continuing financial robustness to us. They recently secured significant private investment and were chosen by Ofgem to take on 580,000 customers from a failed energy supplier, demonstrating their confidence in the company.

Unacceptable Alarmism

Tony Devenish: With London looking to recover from Covid and Tube strikes, would you like to apologise to Londoners for your - in my opinion - alarmist nonsense, claiming Tube lines would be closed and formal negotiations hadn’t started with the Government in early December?

The Mayor: I would urge the Member to take the time to read TfL’s submission to the GLA Budget.
The Government is still refusing to properly fund TfL and yet again only providing a short-term funding deal that will only last a matter of weeks. This means that nothing has changed in terms of TfL having to plan on the basis of a managed decline of the capital’s public transport network.
TfL has a critical role to play in driving the economic recovery in both the capital and the rest of the country. London’s net contribution to the Treasury was £36 billion in the year before the pandemic, and TfL contracts contribute around £7bn to the UK economy while supporting 43,000 jobs around the country.
If the Government chooses not to give TfL the support it needs we will soon start to see very real, very serious consequences.

Afghan Refugees

Leonie Cooper: Can the Mayor tell me how many Afghan Refugees have so far been settled in Wandsworth?

The Mayor: To date, more than 4,000 people have been accommodated in London on a temporary basisin bridging hotels following the evacuation from Kabul.Londonboroughs are starting to welcome families into longer termaccommodation,withover 200 settlement pledges so far across London. The London Borough of Wandsworth has offered six properties to the Home Office for the resettlement of Afghan families within the borough. They are also currently accommodating 10 Afghan families in temporary accommodation.
In August, in response to the emergency, I expanded my Right to Buy-back fund which provides boroughs with money to purchase homes from the open market to provide suitable accommodation quickly. The fund is prioritising acquisition and conversions which can be delivered by early 2022 and increased funding is available for family sized homes, which will help ensure there is a good supply of suitable homes for Afghan families.

Afghan Refugees

Leonie Cooper: Can the Mayor tell me how many Afghan Refugees have so far been settled in Merton?

The Mayor: To date, more than 4,000 people have been accommodated in London on a temporary basisin bridging hotels following the evacuation from Kabul.Londonboroughs have started to welcome families into longer termaccommodation.. The London Borough of Merton is currently accommodating two Afghan families in temporary accommodation within the borough.
In August, in response to the emergency, I expanded my Right to Buy-back fund which provides boroughs with the funds to purchase homes from the open market to provide suitable accommodation quickly. The fund is prioritising acquisition and conversions which can be delivered by early 2022 and increased funding is available for family sized homes, which will help ensure there is a good supply of suitable homes for Afghan families.

Tree Planting

Leonie Cooper: With reference to question 2021/1071, are you on course to deliver the 90,000 trees by March next year and how many have you left to plant?

The Mayor: Yes. Since your previous question in March 2020, my funding has supported the planting of 24,000 additional trees, bringing the total planted since 2016 to 354,000.
In addition, over 70,000 further trees are scheduled to be planted with my funding by the end of March 2022. This includes over 60,000 trees at the two new major woodland creation sites in the Green Belt, in Enfield and Havering, and more than 4,000 street trees in areas of low canopy cover.

River Thames

Tony Devenish: Can you set out what you have done over the last five years, such asthrough the Thames and London Waterways Forum,to change the perhaps incorrect public perception that the River Thames is dirty and polluted?

The Mayor: The River Thames is much healthier than in the past. The recent Zoological Society of London State of the Thames report highlights the positive water quality improvements that have been made in recent times.
However, there are issues including overall long-term increases in nitrates. This is largely due to industrial and sewage effluent.
I support the recently announced investigation led by the Environment Agency and Ofwat into sewage treatment works, to ensure water companies meet their obligations on wastewater treatment.
Alongside the work of theThames and London Waterways Forum (https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/transport/thames-and-london-waterways-forum) which promotes thegrowth in the use of the riverThames and other waterways I have been ensuring improvements are made to clean up the Thames. This includes for example, by supporting SMEs to provide alternatives to plastics that end up in our rivers, my drinking water fountains and Refill programme to encourage fewer single-use plastics.

Training police officers (2)

Susan Hall: For each financial year 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 how many police officers were trained by the Met broken down by how many were to increase people numbers and how many were to replace officers leaving the service?

The Mayor: All police officer recruits entering the service will undergo training and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) publishes information related to both recruitment and attrition as part of the monthly workforce report on the MPS website (www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/workforce-data-report/).
This includes overall officer numbers, recruits and those leaving the service. It is not possible to identify if recruits were to increase officer numbers or to replace those leaving. However, from the available information the number of recruits in both 2019/20 and 2020/21 were above the number of officers leaving the service.
Year
Total Police Officers MPS
Police Officer Recruits
Police Officer Attrition
2017/18
29,924
1,130
2,185
2018/19
29,978
2,272
2,291
2019/20
31,745
4,005
2,120
2020/21
32,531
2,438
1,603
Note that officers will receive a variety of training over the course of their careers and depending on what specialist roles they take on. The data provided focuses on recruits only.

Training police officers (1)

Susan Hall: What is the maximum number of police officers the Met can train each year?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) does not have a defined upper threshold in terms of its recruit training capacity. The model is intended to be scaled up or down depending on demand and available budget.

Met PFIs

Susan Hall: How many Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) are in place for the Met and what are their values?

The Mayor: There are two MOPAC/MPS PFIs. Their balance sheet value as at 31 March 2021 is £116.1m. Further detail can be found in the 2020/21 annual accounts at Our finances | London City Hall

Revenge Porn

Susan Hall: For each year Dec 15 to Nov 16, Dec 16 to Nov 17, Dec 17 to Nov 18, Dec 18 to Nov 19, Dec 19 to Nov 20 and Dec 20 to Nov 21, how many revenge porn reports were made in London?

The Mayor: Please see the requested information attached. The notes page supplied should be read in conjunction with the data to aid in interpretation.

The Mayor: 4961_Revenge Porn (1).xlsx

Essential Digital Skills Entitlement for older Londoners (1)

Hina Bokhari: The Essential Digital Skills Entitlement funded through your Adult Education Budget has potential to reduce the digital skills gap for older Londoners. How many Londoners over the age of 50 have benefitted so far from the Digital Skills Entitlement since it was introduced last year?

The Mayor: The Essential Digital Skills Entitlement (EDSE) was introduced in August 2020. A number of factors have impacted the take-up of the new entitlement including public health restrictions limiting access to learning venues and a delayed roll out of eligible qualifications by the Department for Education (DfE) meaning that providers had less time to plan for delivering the ESDE. This has meant that there has been a relatively low take up of the entitlement with 940 Londoners benefiting from the EDSE in the period August – January of the 2020/21 academic year.
Full year data will be published on the 17 December 2021 and projects an increase in learners enrolling on EDSE courses. This publication will also allow for demographic breakdown by age.
To increase take up of the EDSE, I am implementing a long-term adult education marketing and community outreach programme to promote London’s adult education offer.

Essential Digital Skills Entitlement Awareness Campaign

Hina Bokhari: Please set out a timeline for when you will be launching the Essential Digital Skills Entitlement awareness campaign.

The Mayor: We are implementing a marketing and community outreach programme to promote London’s adult education offer, including the Essential Digital Skills Entitlement, to Londoners. This will include some direct engagement activity with communities to target those most in need of adult education, including those who might be digitally excluded.
The adult education marketing and community outreach programme for London will launch early next year.

Essential Digital Skills Entitlement for older Londoners (2)

Hina Bokhari: What plans are there to raise awareness of the Essential Digital Skills Entitlement amongst older Londoners? Please set out a detailed timeline.

The Mayor: The Essential Digital Skills Entitlement (EDSE) provides a free digital skills training entitlement up to Level 1 for Londoners aged 19 and over.
We are implementing an adult education marketing and community outreach programme to promote London’s adult education offer including the EDSE to Londoners. This will include some direct engagement activity with communities to target those most in need of adult education, including older Londoners who might be digitally excluded.
The adult education marketing and community outreach programme for London will launch early next year.

London Power

Leonie Cooper: How many customers does London Power currently have?

The Mayor: London Power publishes updates on customer numbers on a quarterly basis on the webpage https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/london-power. As of 30 September 2021, London Power supplied 6,310 homes.
Usually, Londoners would be best served by shopping around for a lower priced fixed deal. However, given continued increases in wholesale prices, consumer switching organisations such as Money Saving Expert and Uswitch advise that Londoners are currently best-off staying with their supplier through this winter.
Once the energy price cap increases from April 2020, Londoners should check if they could save money by switching to London Power.

LPFA (1)

Leonie Cooper: Since the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) reduced their investments in extractive fossil fuels by £39.9m, or 90% of assets under management, could you provide a breakdown of what these investments are in now?

The Mayor: I have committed to take all possible steps to divest the London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA) of its investments in fossil fuel industries, but it is worth noting that the LPFA are run by an independent board who must act in the fiduciary interests of members of the scheme. Whilst LPFA have divested from companies such as BP, Shell and Coal India, they have a policy of engagement rather than immediate divestment.
The LPFA have two listed equity holdings in extractive fossil fuel companies. These are Imperial Oil and Novatek.
I am extremely pleased with the progress that the LPFA have made to date, but will continue to work with the pension fund to reduce the negative impact investments have on the environment, whilst encouraging an increase in investments in climate solutions.

LPFA (2)

Leonie Cooper: I welcome that under your administration, the LPFA have reduced their investments in extractive fossil fuels by 90%. However, are you ensuring that the new investments are compatible with the 1.5c degree Paris Agreement?

The Mayor: In September 2021, the LPFA signed the Paris Aligned Investment Initiative (PAII) Net Zero Asset Owner Commitment. This commits the LPFA to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions across its Fund to net zero by 2050 and to set an interim target for 2030.The PAII’s Net Zero Investment Framework’s primary objective is to ensure investors can decarbonise investment portfolios and increase investment in climate solutions, in a way that is consistent with a 1.5°C net zero emissions future.
Previous work by the LPFA in 2019 to understand how the listed equities part of the LPFA’s portfolio was aligned with the 1.5 degree target can be found here in the “Climate Change: Progress against policy” report: https://www.lpfa.org.uk/library/our-performance/responsible-investment

Omicron and other COVID-19 variants

Onkar Sahota: Can you update us on the current situation this winter with regards to the Omicron variant and the ongoing situation around COVID-19?

The Mayor: The overall case rate across London is currently at 1267 per 100,000, which is ahead of the England rate, which is now 736 per 100,000. Crucially, the number of deaths related to COVID-19 in London has remained relatively low and stable since the beginning of autumn 2021.
The situation with the Omicron variant is changing rapidly. The variant continues to spread here and around the world.
I meet regularly with partners from the UK Health Security Agency, the Office for Health Disparities and the NHS to discuss the ongoing situation, variants of concern, the vaccination programme and how health systems are impacted. Data on new Covid-19 infections, testing, vaccination uptake, hospitalisations and deaths continue to be actively monitored.

The Crystal

Peter Fortune: Can you please confirm by what date the GLA’s move to the Crystal will be completed, and if the move will deliver the savings you predicted?

The Mayor: Our move to our new City Hall will be phased from Tuesday 4th January, and we'll be operating fully from there by Monday 17th January. Work on all aspects of the building, both inside and out, continues to progress well.
We remain on track to deliver the savings as predicted.

New Year’s Eve Celebrations

Susan Hall: How much will your New Year’s Eve celebrations at Trafalgar square cost and how does this compare to the usual fireworks display?

The Mayor: London’s world-famous new year fireworks typically takes just under a year to plan and organise. Due to the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we are not able to host this public display on the banks of the Thames.Instead, the centrepiece of London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations will be a broadcast spectacular on BBC One celebrating London, highlighting the most defining moments of 2021, and looking ahead to 2022.
With infections of Covid-19 at record levels across the city and the UK, we must take the right steps to reduce the spread of the virus and ensure our NHS is not overwhelmed this winter. This means wewill no longer host a celebration event in Trafalgar Square this New Year's Eve.

Water fountain provision in London

Hina Bokhari: How many water fountains do you expect will be installed in London by the end of 2022?

The Mayor: To help Londoners ditch single-use plastic bottles and reduce waste, I partnered with the Zoological Society of London to install 28 drinking fountains, and Thames Water to install over 100 fountains, across busy areas of London. So far, we have installed 90 drinking fountains across 21 boroughs and the City of London and are currently on track to deliver at least 60 more by the end of 2022.
In addition, the London Plan states that free drinking water fountains should be provided in appropriate locations in new or redeveloped public realm , with management and maintenance secured and agreed at the planning stage.
To further support this work my partnership with City to Sea to deliver the Refill London campaign has provided over 4,300 refill points across the city, up from approximately 200 when the programme started in March 2018.

Car Journeys during school drop-offs

Hina Bokhari: The Walking Action Plan, a study carried out by Transport for London in July 2018, found that a quarter of weekday morning peak car trips can be attributed to school drop-offs. Please provide figures over the last three years on the use of cars for school runs across London broken down by i) borough, and ii) month.

The Mayor: The Walking Action Plan sets out my vision for London to be the world’s most walkable city. To achieve this we need to enable more people to walk part or all of their journey, improve the experience of walking in London and reduce car dependency.
London has the highest levels of childhood obesity in England. Supporting children to walk more is particularly important in helping them to access the health benefits of walking and ensuring that future generations of Londoners are able to choose active, efficient and sustainable modes of transport. That is why my Walking Action Plan includes a target for London to increase the proportion of trips made to primary schools by walking to 57 per cent by 2024, up from 53 per cent in 2018.
The plan highlights that a quarter of weekday morning peak car trips are for school drop-off, which was based on London Travel Demand Survey (LTDS) data. The figures from 2017/18 to 2019/20 from LTDS show a three-year average of 27 per cent of weekday morning car driver trips attributed to school drop off/pick up purposes. Hounslow has the smallest proportion of school run car driver trips at 12 per cent, and Tower Hamlets the highest at 43 per cent. The breakdown by borough is shown in the table below. Borough level data cannot be broken down by month or year due to the sample size for LTDS. Also below is the annual breakdown London wide.
Borough of residence
Proportion of AM peak car driver trips that are for school drop off/pick up
Barking & Dagenham
24%
Barnet
26%
Bexley
22%
Brent
20%
Bromley
21%
Camden
38%
Croydon
29%
Ealing
21%
Enfield
28%
Greenwich
29%
Hackney
30%
Hammersmith & Fulham
18%
Haringey
27%
Harrow
23%
Havering
27%
Hillingdon
23%
Hounslow
12%
Islington
30%
Kensington & Chelsea
34%
Kingston upon Thames
32%
Lambeth
28%
Lewisham
19%
Merton
29%
Newham
37%
Redbridge
33%
Richmond upon Thames
20%
Southwark
33%
Sutton
25%
Tower Hamlets
43%
Waltham Forest
32%
Wandsworth
16%
Westminster
25%
LTDS average weekday (7 day week)
Proportion of AM peak car driver trips that are for school drop off/pick up
2017/18
25.8%
2018/19
25.3%
2019/20
24.9%

Street markets toolkit

Zack Polanski: When will you update the street markets toolkit so that it reflects London’s changed economic environment from the coronavirus pandemic?

The Mayor: The coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to London’s street markets and has accelerated the challenges already faced by the sector. In this context, the Street Markets Toolkit still remains a robust and relevant resource that provides operators with common guidance and principles to help them identify, collect and analyse data regarding their market’s performance.
In MQ 2021/3510 I outlined several actions underway to support the wider recovery of street markets in London. The scope of this work includes examining the impact of the pandemic on markets, and supporting them to address new and emerging challenges and opportunities. The outcome of this work will be shared in Spring 2022.

London international sporting events

Zack Polanski: What discussions have you had to try to bring less-polluting international sporting events in terms of PM2.5 and carbon emissions, such as baseball, to London?

The Mayor: My Major Sports Events team works to develop and deliver an exciting portfolio sporting events. These events include major international tournaments, and internationally recognised special events. Major sports events play a huge part in boosting London’s economy, they reach local, national and international audiences, and are important part of our recovery from COVID-19.
There is an obvious and urgent need for this generation to earnestly begin pro-actively protecting the environment and ensuring events and products are sustainable. This is an important part of my ambitions for major sports events in London.
My team is developing a new framework to set London’s strategic intent with regards to hosting future Major Sports Events. This includes a prioritisation of events which minimise air pollution and carbon emissions. The team is speaking to several potential events for London over the next ten years, and environmental factors and conditions will be central to discussions.

New variant economic support

Zack Polanski: What additional support will you provide to London businesses to help them to deal with the potential impacts of the new coronavirus variant Omicron?

The Mayor: I support the Government’s introduction of ‘Plan B’ measures, but it is important that we recognise that they have come at the most important time of the year for our retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. It is vital that the Government comes forward with an urgent package of support for employers and businesses.
This should include support for boroughs to enable them to provide discretionary grants to businesses and new ‘Restart’ Grants for affected sectors. Full business rates relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors should be reintroduced until March 2022; and VAT relief for hospitality, accommodation and certain attractions extended beyond March 2022.
I continue to provide support for businesses, through the ongoing Let’s Do London programme, my Pay it Forward London crowdfunding platform, and via the London Business Hub.

Formula 1 in the Royal Docks (1)

Zack Polanski: Given that you may need to close roads for a Formula 1 race in the Royal Docks, will you consider restarting the programme of GLA-supported local car-free days?

The Mayor: London is the greatest sporting city in the world and the Mayor is keen for London to continue to host world-class sporting events. As with all major events, we carefully consider the overall impact of the event on the local area.
With regard to local car free days, Transport for London (TfL) is able to support boroughs with the planning and logistics of car-free events but is currently unable to commit financial support for local car-free days because of the ongoing uncertainty over TfL’s funding.

Formula 1 in the Royal Docks (2)

Zack Polanski: Given that Formula 1 involves high speeds and tyres that degrade within just a few dozen laps, what analysis has been done of the impact of more particulate pollution in Newham that would come from hosting a grand prix in the Royal Docks?

The Mayor: Talks about hosting a Formula One race in London are at an early stage. Any future discussions will consider the overall impact a potential race would have on London, including on London’s air quality and wider environment.
I recognise that a potential Formula One race may lead to a one-off localised incident of higher levels of air pollution, in the same way that occurs around Bonfire Night. I would expect race organisers to ensure that any environmental impacts from hosting the race would be minimised and mitigated.

Bribery offences

Unmesh Desai: How many current or former Met Police officers have been charged with bribery offences linked to their role as a police officer in each of the past 5 years?

The Mayor: The Centurion system records all misconduct and complaint investigations, but it does not have a field which specifically records an offence such as bribery. This offence would be recorded as ‘other’, along with a number of other offences. Therefore, in order to answer this question, each individual record would need to be reviewed to identify the specific criminal offence, whether it was in the course of their duty and if they were charged.

Care workers

Zack Polanski: As a proud supporter of the London Living Wage campaign, what would you say to care workers who have finally won their pay rise through use of industrial action? And what would your message be to other trade unions who are striking for better pay and conditions?

The Mayor: I am a proud supporter of the London Living Wage campaign and of our trade union movement.
The number of accredited Living Wage employers in London has quadrupled since 2016, including many in the care sector. It is great news that more care workers will be receiving a pay rise, but we have much more to do to ensure all care workers experience fair pay and conditions.
To that end, trade unions play a vital role in ensuring Londoners are treated fairly at work. From securing annual leave entitlements, to protecting parental leave and the right to paid holiday, trade unions have stood up for Londoners for decades. All employers should recognise a trade union and put in place mechanisms to amicably involve workers in decisions that affect their working lives. Good employee dialogue and voice through trade union recognition is a fundamental part of my Good Work Standard.

Formula 1 in the Royal Docks (3)

Zack Polanski: What planning and consultation process would you follow for any future proposal for a Formula 1 race in the Royal Docks, to ensure local residents’ views and needs are taken into account?

The Mayor: Talks about hosting a Formula 1 race in London are at a very early stage. London is the greatest sporting city in the world and the Mayor would be keen for a race to take place in the capital. Any future discussions will consider the overall impact a potential race would have on London. As is the case for all major sporting events, the event organisers would need to work closely with London stakeholders, particularly the GLA and key London boroughs, in the development and delivery of the event, including all necessary planning and licensing requirements and appropriate consultation with local residents.

Eliminating peat use within the GLA Group

Zack Polanski: Your Environment Strategy commits the GLA Group to reducing the use of peat-based products. Couldyou provide a breakdown of peat-based products used per year, including type and weight, by the GLA Group since 2016?

The Mayor: The GLA Group has reduced its use of peat products in line with the commitment in the 2018 London Environment Strategy (LES).
The GLA has not used any peat-based products since 2016 and GLA green infrastructure grants require applicants to use peat-free compost. MPS has not used any since 2018. LFB and LLDC have not used any since 2020. Most of TfL’s supply chain has committed to reduce peat usage, though this cannot be verified for small community planting activities which do not have the same level of oversight.
Data on exact quantities of peat purchased under previous contracts is unavailable.
In line with the commitment in the LES, this autumn, my Environment Team started developing an action plan to further reduce the GLA Group’s usage of pesticides and peat-based products. This will be published in 2022.

Green finance

Zack Polanski: Your GLA: Mayor Draft Budget 2022-23 says you plan to develop a green finance facility for London. What projects do you plan on supporting with this facility? What does your definition of ‘green’ in this context include and exclude?

The Mayor: I am exploring opportunities to maximise private investment which includes a green finance facility to invest in projects that support my environmental objectives for London, guided by my London Environment Strategy, net zero 2030 target and Green New Deal.
The initial focus for the Facility is currently being developed. It will prioritise investments into the key project areas needed to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies in London and meet my 2030 net zero target. It will also prioritise programmes where the public and private sector most need to share risks and rewards to catalyse the flow of finance. This includes work with the Green Finance Institute to explore priority areas such as retrofitting London’s buildings; renewable energy infrastructure; decentralised energy networks and electric vehicle infrastructure, as well as Power Purchase Agreements and a Green Bond to support the direct decarbonisation of GLA operations.
I am also working to develop investment mechanisms for areas that currently present the greatest challenges for private sector investment, such as nature and green spaces. These will require both policy development and innovative delivery models to be able to create revenue streams and secure private sector investment.

Handcuff usage and demographics

Unmesh Desai: Please provide a monthly breakdown of the number of incidents where handcuffs have been used to restrain a suspect in each of the last 3 years. Please also provide a demographic breakdown of the suspects if possible.

The Mayor: The MPS publish the requested information on Use of Force on a monthly basis here:
The Home Officealso publish annual Police Use of Force statistics here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-use-of-force-statistics
It should be noted that each count represents an incident of use of force by an officer on a subject. The number of incidents reported does not show how many individual people experienced police use of force - for example, where more than one officer has used force on the same subject, these will be recorded as separate entries.

Anti-vaxxers and London schools

Joanne McCartney: How many reports have been made to the police of anti-vaxxers at or in London schools and how many schools have been affected? How many such incidents have the police attended?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has been made aware of 34 anti-vaccine persons or groups at or in schools since 21st September 2021. 31 different schools have reported incidents.
Police have attended 19 of these reported incidents and those present have dispersed. Those incidents not attended by police were ones which were only notified to police after the incident had occurred.
Some incidents have been challenging given those present were parents of children at the schools. Police worked with the protestors and schools’ staff to disperse the protests where possible.

Pay-Per-Mile Funding of Net-Zero Taxis

Caroline Pidgeon: I am aware that your energy efficiency fund (MEEF) has contracted FinTech company Zeti to deliver pay-per-mile funding of net-zero taxis across the capital. What safeguards have MEEF applied so that payments are made only for miles driven in electric mode and not when the petrol engine is being used?

The Mayor: My Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF) has made a loan to Colt Cabs Limited to fund 30 zero emission capable taxis. This will be monitored by a London based FinTech start-up, Zeti.
Before investing in this project MEEF undertook technical due diligence (led by a third-party expert) to ensure the project will meet MEEF’s target of saving a tonne of CO2 for every £7,000 invested. The MEEF investment in this project is expected to save 116 tonnes of CO2 per annum, comfortably exceeding the target.
The loan agreement from MEEF requires the borrower to put in place a Measurement and Verification Plan to ensure the expected emission savings are delivered. The running costs of a zero-emission capable taxi are lower in electric mode, meaning drivers are incentivised to drive in the electric mode as much as possible.

Progress on works at Holborn Gyratory

Caroline Pidgeon: What specific actions have been taken by (a) TfL and (b) Camden Council in relation to making Holborn Gyratory safe for cyclists during the month of November?

The Mayor: Further to my response to Mayor’s Question 2021/4343 outlining work completed in October, Transport for London (TfL) continued to work closely with Camden Council during November Camden has completed its feasibility design of the new layout for the junction, and traffic modelling has been completed. Camden published the designs for public consultation between 13th November and 1st December, and the plans can be seen here: https://consultations.wearecamden.org/supporting-communities/southampton-row-and-theobalds-road/
The proposals include:
A new segregated cycle track northbound and southbound on Southampton Row
A new cycle gate southbound on Southampton Row at the junction with Theobald’s Road.
New advanced stop lines for cyclists in all directions
An early start of around 4 seconds for cyclists in all directions.
Cyclists being able to turn right in two stages on all junction arms
Bus, cycle and taxi lane southbound from 150 Southampton Row through to junction with Theobald’s Road converted to 24 hours per day
Bus, cycle and taxi lane southbound from Southampton Row junction to Catton Street converted to 24 hours per day
Removing the pedestrian guardrail around the junction to reduce potential harm to cyclists
Camden will now develop the final detailed designs and plan to start construction work at the site from mid-January 2022.

Residential Cycle Hangars

Caroline Pidgeon: How many residential cycle hangars to you expect to be installed in London by the end of 2022?

The Mayor: The number of cycle hangars that Transport for London (TfL) can deliver across London by the end of 2022 is dependent on a future funding settlement with the Department for Transport, which has yet to be confirmed.
TfL estimates that there are now over 3,000 cycle hangars in London, a 150 per cent increase since 2017/18, providing a secure and convenient cycle parking space for over 18,000 Londoners. However, many more are required to meet demand, which has grown substantially during the pandemic.

Kings Cross Gyratory (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: What actions are you taking to ensure that the redevelopment works to the Kings Cross Gyratory system are completed by 2024?
Please also provide a full breakdown of the costs involved in completing the following improvement works by 2024: (a) Euston Road/Pancras Road/Belgrove Street junction (b) Euston Road/York Way/Grays Inn Road/Pentonville Road Junction (c) Kings Cross Road/Pentonville Road Junction (d) Grays Inn Road between Kings Cross Bridge and Swinton Street.

The Mayor: I outlined actions being taken by Transport for London (TfL) at King’s Cross Gyratory in my previous response to Mayor’s Question 2021/1667. The various locations you have listed, which make up the area around the gyratory, are at a very early feasibility stage and a detailed cost analysis for each of the schemes has not been determined yet. TfL will continue to develop the proposals and intends to implement the schemes by 2024, subject to the required funding being available.

Social media vetting of police officers

Unmesh Desai: How many officers failed the Met’s vetting process in each of the last 4 years, including 2021, due to the discovery of inappropriate activity on social media or online?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) current vetting database does not enable this information to be easily extracted. The Vetting Unit would have to go through each refusal individually to determine accurate figures.
The MPS is working on a new vetting database that will be able to extract and provide this information.

Sexual misconduct retracted allegations

Unmesh Desai: How many allegations of sexual misconduct within the Met police were retracted in each of the last four years including 2021? If possible, please advise the gender of the person who retracted the allegation.

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is unable to easily retrieve this data. The Centurion system that records all misconduct and complaint investigations does not specify whether a person has retracted an allegation. In order to ascertain this each individual record would need to be reviewed to determine if a person had withdrawn an allegation.

Loss of London public toilets

Caroline Russell: How will you engage with London’s high street businesses to encourage them to open their toilets to the public?

The Mayor: Public toilets are a vital facility for everyone. Increasing provision is key to making sure all Londoners can live independent lives.
My Good Growth investment is creating or refurbishing more than 250 toilet units, including more than 180 which are fully accessible across London; and Transport for London are also improving their toilet provision.
London Plan Policy S6 requires large-scale developments that are open to the public – such as shopping centres or large community spaces – and those where new, large-scale public realm is created, to provide free, publicly accessible toilets suitable for a range of users.
In respect of high street access, I support borough community toilet schemes that promote access to toilets on commercial and retail premises by members of the public; and will continue to work with boroughs, TfL and businesses to provide inclusive and accessible toilet services in London.

Acceleration in the use of private finance for zero carbon infrastructure (2)

Zack Polanski: Your GLA: Mayor Draft Budget 2022-23 says that GLA modelling estimates that London needs £61 billion of capital investment in buildings and infrastructure to reach net zero carbon by 2030, “which will require a huge acceleration in the use of private finance.” What ethical safeguards will you put in place to stop potential conflicts of interest between the private and public sectors?

The Mayor: The amount of investment needed to get London to net-zero is more than can be borne by the public sector alone - it will be essential to mobilise private sector finance in support of this.
The work I am doing to mobilise this investment is being guided by my London Environment Strategy, Net Zero by 2030 target and the Green New Deal mission. This includes embedding the principles of a just and ethical transition. In establishing a Financing Facility I will ensure that its objectives are aligned with these policies.
The GLA already has procedures in place for undertaking due diligence when contracting with other parties, as set out in the Responsible Procurement Strategy, and when making and accepting investments, as set out in our Anti-money Laundering policies and Treasury Management strategy, which includes our policies for not investing in fossil fuel companies.
As work develops on the establishment of a Facility I will ensure that appropriate safeguards, using our existing experience and industry best practice, are in place to ensure that it acts ethically and avoids potential conflicts of interest in its investment decisions.

Acceleration in the use of private finance for zero carbon infrastructure (1)

Zack Polanski: Your GLA: Mayor Draft Budget 2022-23 says that GLA modelling estimates that London needs £61 billion of capital investment in buildings and infrastructure to reach net zero carbon by 2030. What public and Government funds are currently available for this investment?

The Mayor: The Government’s Net Zero Strategy gives an overview of funds allocated to net zero. This includes £1.4 billion for public sector decarbonisation. The government has established the UK Infrastructure Bank to help tackle climate change and support regional economic growth. The Bank has an initial £12 billion of capital and will be able to issue up to £10 billion of guarantees.
I continue to directly invest in projects through my Mayor’s Energy Efficiency Fund, which has secured over £310 million of project finance so far and which I have recently committed a further £30 million to leverage up to an additional £150 million in investment.
I am exploring opportunities to maximise private investment in low carbon projects including a new financing facility.

50 new professional standards investigators

Unmesh Desai: Please advise what rank the new officers employed into the Directorate of Professional Standards are employed at and whether all officers have been employed on full time contracts? If there are officers on fixed term contracts please advise how many of the 50 officers this is.

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) have had an uplift of 51 police officers. The breakdown of ranks/bands is as follows:
Detective Inspectors x 2
Detective Sergeants x 4
Detective Constables x 22
Police Constables x 23
These officers are not on separate contracts. They are full time officers redeployed from other parts of the MPS.

Careers Hubs (1)

Marina Ahmad: How many young Londoners do you hope to reach with your new Careers Hubs?

The Mayor: There are over 550,0000 students in London state secondary schools in addition to those in Further Education (FE) colleges, Alternative Provisions and Special schools. This programme will connect them to a plethora of businesses and support the development of comprehensive employer-led careers education. All London state schools and colleges will be invited to join a Careers Hub over the next 2 years. This will happen in 3 waves. Whilst they are waiting to transition into a hub they will have access to the existing London Enterprise Adviser Network and its resources.

Careers Hubs (2)

Marina Ahmad: How many organisations do you hope will engage with your new Careers Hubs and how are you communicating the new programme with London’s employers?

The Mayor: The Careers Hubs are about employer-led careers engagement – bringing the world of work to students across London. The aim is to engage as many London organisations as possible that represent a wide range of sizes, sectors and industries so young Londoners are aware of the diversity of opportunities and pathways available to them.
We are already working with over 600 London businesses and are actively seeking to increase this number via direct engagement as well as social media activity, such as my recent call to action via Linked which has attracted more employers to the programme. The Careers team and delivery partners are reaching out to businesses and business groups at a borough level, sub-regional level and through pan-London employer groups, communicating the benefits of Careers Hubs to businesses. In each sub region we are setting up groups of employers who are committed to employer-led careers education (Cornerstone Employers).

Back to Business Fund

Marina Ahmad: I welcome the announcement of the £300k phase of your Back to Business Fund. When do you expect to announce more details of this phase?

The Mayor: More details will be released later this month, alongside the opening of applications for the fund. Up to £10,000 in match funding will be available on the basis that eligible businesses use the funding to increase their resilience, digitise or diversify their business, upskill their employees, innovate or adapt to trading through Covid-19.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Marina Ahmad: Have you received an update from the Government on London’s allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund? If not, how much would London need to replace the EU funds that London will no longer have access to?

The Mayor: I have not received an update. The government first announced its intention to consult on the implementation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) in 2017. It has not provided further information since then; although London stakeholders and I have pressed for this.
The Government’s October spending review announced that UKSPF would equate to £0.4 billion in 2022-23, £0.7 billion in 2023-24 and £1.5 billion in 2024-25, to be split between England and the Devolved Administrations. Further details were promised in a white paper to be published before Christmas. This has now been delayed until next year.
City Hall is managing London’s £1.2 billion seven-year European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund programmes (half EU funds, half match-funding) until their closure in 2023-24. So a London UKSPF allocation that mirrored EU funds already devolved to London would be worth at least £90m per year.

Personal Independence Payments (PIP)

Marina Ahmad: It was disappointing to see Government Budget documents confirm that they are no longer going ahead with the proposed 18-month minimum PIP award period decreases as promised in their 2019 manifesto. How many Londoners will be impacted as a result of this decision? Are you concerned that this would exacerbate health inequalities?

The Mayor: The latest available figures from Government show that just under 280,000 Londoners are claiming Personal Independence Payment, most of whom will be affected by the Government’s decision to scrap the new proposed minimum award.
It’s simply not right that those with a disability or long-term health condition should suffer the physical and mental toll of having to prove their eligibility over and over again. Many of those affected were also disproportionately impacted by other recent welfare policies – like the decision not to extend the £20 a week Universal Credit uplift or the lack of transitional protection for some disabled claimants naturally migrating to Universal Credit.
The government must start listening to those with experience of the welfare system and take steps to ensure that it not only covers the genuine basic cost of living for all who need it, but also treats claimants with respect and allows them to live with dignity.

Careers Hubs (3)

Marina Ahmad: How will schools engage your new Careers Hubs?

The Mayor: In July, I wrote to all headteachers and college principals in London informing them about the Careers Hubs and how they can engage. This was followed up by a series of sub regional information sessions, which were well attended. Over 75% of London secondary schools, Further Education Colleges, Alternative Provision and Special schools are engaged so far, receiving support to develop comprehensive employer-led careers education. The Careers team and delivery partners will continue to encourage the remaining educational institutions to engage in the Careers Hubs.

Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme 2021

Marina Ahmad: I welcome the publication of the “HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES AND FOOD (HAF) PROGRAMME 2021: London’s experience and recommendations for government” which you have supported. Has Government yet responded to these recommendations?

The Mayor: The Government has not yet responded; I urge them to consider the report’s findings and recommendations and I await their response. Having painstakingly captured the experiences and perspectives of local authorities, providers, parents and young people involved in the programme, the research highlights some vital insights and makes clear and compelling recommendations.
These include a commitment to make HAF funding permanent so that local authorities and delivery partners can operate with clarity, invest in consistent provision and capture the long-term impacts of the programme.
Having seen the impact HAF can have in our communities this year, the Government must ensure every child in need of support can access the same provision as their peers. Too many children and young people experiencing or at risk of food insecurity are excluded from the programme because of its eligibility criteria, which means it needs to extend eligibility and look beyond Free School Meals as a proxy for need.

TfL’s Extraordinary Funding and Financing Agreement

Elly Baker: Please provide an update on the Extraordinary Funding and Financing Agreement between TfL and the Government.

The Mayor: The Government has now said it would extend the current funding agreement until 4 February.
The Government is still refusing to properly fund Transport for London which has been severely affected by COVID, yet again only providing a short-term funding deal that will only last a matter of weeks. This means that nothing has changed in terms of TfL having to plan on the basis of a managed decline of the capital’s public transport network.
As a condition of the emergency short term funding TfL needs to avoid collapse, the Government is forcing us to raise additional revenue in London through measures, like council tax, that will unfairly punish Londoners for the way the pandemic has hit our transport network. Only a long-term funding deal with the Government, including additional capital funding, will be enough to avoid significant and damaging cuts to tube and bus services.
Over the next seven weeks, I urge Ministers to start engaging with TfL and City Hall in good faith so that we can finally agree a long-term funding deal that will protect London’s transport network.

Winter Pressures on London’s NHS

Krupesh Hirani: Hospitals, general practice, community services, and social care in London are at breaking point at the beginning of a very difficult winter. From your conversations with NHS London, are you confident that the Government are taking this situation seriously and putting in the resources to tackle the challenges we face?

The Mayor: I am very concerned about the extreme pressure the NHS in London is facing, which now includes the added challenge presented by the Omicron variant, as well as winter pressures. Staff have been working in incredibly difficult circumstances for more than 18 months and many are stressed and exhausted.
I welcome the £700 million targeted funding recently announced by the Government for the NHS to address winter pressures this year, but I remain concerned, that it will provide nowhere near enough resource to tackle the challenges our hard-pressed frontline services are facing.
I meet regularly with senior NHS leaders to discuss the preparedness of the NHS for dealing with both Covid and winter pressures. I know the NHS in London has developed extensive plans to understand and mitigate the challenges.
We now need immediate action from the Government to make sure frontline services get the resources they need this winter – not just the NHS but social care as well.

GLA precept arrears

Siân Berry: Noting that many councils have seen an increase in council tax arrears during the pandemic, could you tell me the total number of London households in arrears and the total amount of GLA council tax precept owed in arrears, broken down by: a) the financial year for which precept is outstanding, and b) London borough?

The Mayor: Will Norman, my Walking and Cycling Commissioner, and the Metropolitan Police have recently jointly written to a number of retailers about point of sale information concerning the legal status of e-scooters. The list of retailers is set out below, and I attach copies of the letters sent, which vary slightly based on whether or not the company received a similar letter last year.
Retailers:
Pure Electric, Harrods, Evolve Skateboard, Dualtron, OnBoards, Very Group, Sports Direct, JD Sports Outdoor (includes Blacks and Millets), Menkind, Robert Dyas, Decathlon, Amazon, Halfords, Sainsburys and Argos, Selfridges, Soho Scooters, Velorution, Booset Electric, Rebel-ewheels, E-scooters 4 Less, Paw Electric andScoot the City.

High Streets Fund supporting community groups to use empty commercial space

Siân Berry: Thank you for providing information about your High Streets for All Challenge: Stage 2 projects. Could you give me a complete list of which community groups your High Streets Fund had helped to take over empty shops, and the average grant awarded to these projects?

The Mayor: The High Streets for All Challenge is supporting 35 local partnerships to develop multi-faceted and innovative strategies to help their high streets thrive. There are five which involve plans for community groups taking over empty shops as part of the wider project: Church End (SAAFI), Kilburn High Road (Camden Council), Redchurch Street (onRedchurch CIC), Holloway Road (Manor Gardens Welfare Trust), and Chipping Barnet (Chipping Barnet Town Team). The average grant awarded to these projects is £127,000.
Further detail on these projects and the organisations involved in the local partnerships is set out here: MQ2021-4837 Appendix - List of projects.docx
In addition, the Make London programme supported three projects which involved community groups taking over empty shops: Making Space in Poplar, Creative Meanwhile Space in Kingston, and the Old Kent Road Arts Club. The average grant award and match funding for the projects was £23,000.

The Mayor: MQ2021-4837 Appendix - List of projects.docx

Design Lab3 Funding

Shaun Bailey: How much funding will you be allocating to your new workforce initiative Design Lab3?

The Mayor: £86,000 has been allocated from the budget of the Social Integration team, for the recruitment, organisation and delivery of the third cohort of the Design Lab programme.
£6,000 has been used for business engagement, to ensure participation in the Design Lab, and £80,000 will be used to commission the partner to deliver the programme. This will go towards a year-long programme of data assessments, workshops, 1-2-1 support and events including a recruitment drive, bringing together Design Lab employers and young people interested in entering the technology sector.
Funding will also be used to support businesses to produce a bespoke action plan comprising targeted objectives and action to support the recruitment, retention and progression of more young Black men into the technology sector. Businesses are supported to develop and communicate these plans based on learning from the programme and an understanding of where underrepresentation occurs in their businesses.

Design Lab3 Targets

Shaun Bailey: What targets have you set to measure the success and progress of your new workforce initiative Design Lab3?

The Mayor: The Workforce Integration Network addresses workplace inequalities by driving systemic change. The Design Lab programme provides bespoke support to select businesses to design and test solutions to tackle underrepresentation of young Black men in their businesses.
The third cohort focuses on the technology sector and the success of the work is measured against four criteria. Firstly, recruiting up to 10 suitable employers to the programme. Employers are chosen based on size of workforce, expected future recruitment and commitment to building diverse and inclusive workforces. Secondly, the production of action plans for each business at the end of the programme, comprising of targeted objectives to support recruitment, retention and progression of more young Black men. Thirdly, participating employers are supported to build a community of practice acting as leaders and champions of change and laying foundations for strong networks and greater action throughout the industry. Finally, the scale and reach of recruitment drives will inform young people of career opportunities available and connect them with Design Lab employers.

Confidence in the police

Shaun Bailey: How can you ensure Londoners have confidence in the police?

The Mayor: The police and all our public services haveworked hardthroughout the pandemic, and the police, like other blue light services, will continue to work during the upcoming Christmas and new year period.It is vital that London’s recovery from the pandemic is built on a foundation of safety for all Londoners, and trust and confidence in the police is essential to achieve this.
Recent events have shown us very clearly why it is so important that the MPS works to rebuild its relationships with London’s communities.
Trust and confidence are lowest amongst London’s black communities.Women’s trust in the MPS has been severely damaged by the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer and the conduct of the two officers recently jailed for sharing photos of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry.
Both these incidents involve heinous acts by people in positions of authority who Londoners should be able to trust, but they cannot be treated simply as isolated incidents.
I have welcomed the appointment of Baroness Casey to lead an independent review into MPS culture and standards. The review must look into the culture of the MPS, including issues of misogyny, racism and homophobia, as well as thoroughly examining recruitment, vetting, training, leadership and standards of behaviour among officers and staff.

Northern Lights’ Borealis light spectacular

Shaun Bailey: How much funding have you allocated to the 'Northern Lights’ Borealis light spectacular and from which budget?

The Mayor: In order to support London’s culture, retail and hospitality businesses by attracting visitors and tourists to London, we have brought the experience of the Northern Lights to the City of London’s Guildhall Yard.
Dan Acher’s installation runs from 11th to 22ndDecember and costs £209,945. It is funded through my Let’s Do London campaign which has been key to encouraging more than 280,000 visitors back to London since May and contributed over £70m to London’s economy.
Over 50,000 free tickets have been made available for Borealis, and it has received extensive national press coverage including in the Guardian, the Telegraph and on ITV.

Cannabis farms

Shaun Bailey: For each year Dec 15 to Nov 16, Dec 16 to Nov 17, Dec 17 to Nov 18, Dec 18 to Dec 19, Nov 19 to Dec 20 and Nov 20 to Dec 21, how many cannabis farms were found by the Met?

The Mayor: Please see attached the requested information. The supplied notes page should be read in conjunction with the data to aid in interpretation.

The Mayor: 4938_Cannabis farms (1).xlsx

High Streets for All Challenge

Marina Ahmad: What do you seek to achieve with your High Streets for All Challenge and when do you expect to evaluate the project?

The Mayor: My £4m High Streets for All Challenge is supporting local partnerships in each London borough. They bring together businesses, councils and local communities to develop innovative proposals and strategies to help their high streets thrive by bringing vacant buildings into use, improving the public realm, protecting cultural spaces and supporting jobs on the high street at all times of the day and night. Supported partnerships will be able to use their strategy as the basis for local action or to seek additional funding from other sources.
The Challenge has been designed to create a community of practice and enable learning to be captured and shared across London as part of an ongoing evaluation process. The programme will run until March 2023, and we will evaluate its impact by March 2024 using insights from the self-evaluations of all funded projects.

Small Business Saturday 2021

Marina Ahmad: What action did you take to support Small Business Saturday in London this year?

The Mayor: Small businesses are the lifeblood of the London economy and I am proud to support them every day of the year. So I have always been an advocate of Small Business Saturday, and this year I called on the nation to share a ‘big thank you’ with our small firms to recognise their vital role throughout the pandemic; which I promoted on social media.
At the same time, I announced a funding package of £2m to support high street recovery via my High Streets for All Challenge. This will support 15 projects across our communities to transform London’s high streets, and help small businesses to flourish.
Alongside this, I also announced a new £300k phase of my Back to Business Fund, due to launch soon, in collaboration with the London boroughs of Croydon, Hammersmith & Fulham and Southwark.

New Year’s Eve 2021

Marina Ahmad: How are you encouraging Londoners to celebrate New Year’s Eve safely?

The Mayor: The centrepiece of London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations will be a broadcast spectacular on BBC One celebrating London and highlighting the most defining moments of 2021 which people can enjoy safely in the comfort of their own homes.
Alongside this we are delivering a public-balloted event on Trafalgar Square, which is planned with appropriate Covid-19 mitigations. We will of course provide detailed guidance to those attending with regard to appropriate safety measures. We will also be running a livestream of this event for those who would like to watch safely from their homes.
We are also continuing to use our communications channels to remind people of the Covid-19 regulations regarding safe travel including the need to wear face coverings on public transport, the new regulations for hospitality venues like nightclubs and the benefits of regular Covid testing and of course getting vaccinated.

Let’s Do London

Marina Ahmad: What plans do you have for the Let’s Do London campaign in 2022 and how will you continue to encourage people to visit London and support London’s businesses?

The Mayor: My ‘Let’s Do London’ domestic tourism campaign has championed our businesses, cultural institutions and attractions which have suffered during the pandemic.It has contributed over £70m to London’s economy since May.
My Winter Lights season will continue over the winter months. On 7 December I joined Society of London Theatre to launchOfficial London Theatre’s New Year Sale, encouraging people tovisitthe West Endand to eat, stay and see a play in 2022 with £10 tickets.I encourage visitors toenjoyevents safely whilesupporting our world class cultural institutions and hospitality sector.
My business growth and destination agency, London & Partners, will be working closely with London's tourism industry to build on the success ofthatcampaigntomaximise the number of international visitors to Londonin 2022. I will continue to do all I can to support London’s businesses through this difficult period.

Child hunger over Christmas

Marina Ahmad: With the increase in the cost of living this winter, is the Government’s Holiday Activities and Food programme, which provides free school meals for children for one of the two weeks of school holiday, enough to stop children in London going hungry this Christmas?

The Mayor: The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme has a really important role to play in supporting London’s children, and the recent decision to fund the programme for a further three years is certainly welcome.
Having supported the Kitchen Social programme since becoming Mayor, this year I supported the Mayor’s Fund for London both to help roll out the HAF programme this year and to commission research into the programme’s impact. The research demonstrated that boroughs have used their funding to provide nutritious food, enriching social activities and safe spaces to thousands of children this year.
However, I’d urge the Government to consider the report’s recommendations including expanding eligibility so that all children at risk of going hungry – including those with no recourse to public funds – can benefit from it and extend the programme so that it is funded to operate in all 13 weeks of school holiday throughout the year, rather than just six.
What we really need to see is sustained support of the level seen earlier in the pandemic being extended to everyone who needs it, especially those communities that are so often forgotten, ignored, or left behind.

Writing to Retailers on Labelling of E-scooters

Caroline Pidgeon: Can you provide a list of retailers you have written to regarding the need for responsible and clear labelling around the illegality of e-scooters for use on public highways and pavements? Please also provide a copy of the standard letter you have sent.

The Mayor: Will Norman, my Walking and Cycling Commissioner, and the Metropolitan Police have recently jointly written to a number of retailers about point of sale information concerning the legal status of e-scooters. The list of retailers is set out below, and I attach copies of the letters sent, which vary slightly based on whether or not the company received a similar letter last year.
Retailers:
Pure Electric, Harrods, Evolve Skateboard, Dualtron, OnBoards, Very Group, Sports Direct, JD Sports Outdoor (includes Blacks and Millets), Menkind, Robert Dyas, Decathlon, Amazon, Halfords, Sainsburys and Argos, Selfridges, Soho Scooters, Velorution, Booset Electric, Rebel-ewheels, E-scooters 4 Less, Paw Electric andScoot the City.

The Mayor: 4752 attachment 1.pdf


  4752 attachment 2.pdf

Expansion of iREPORTit App Technology

Caroline Pidgeon: In answer to MQ2021/3996 you stated - “There is an intention to explore the use of the iREPORTit app in wider policing.” Can you update me on how you are working with the Met and others to deliver this?

The Mayor: The iREPORTit app was created and piloted through my Civic Innovation Challenge. This new anonymous public referral smartphone app, which has been deployed nationally, is used by members of the public to refer online terrorist content directly to the police.
After a successful pilot period where iREPORTit increased the quality and quantity of referrals to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU), management of the iREPORTit app has been transferred directly to the CTIRU who have renewed the licence for the app for a further 12 months.
Recognising that online terrorist content has no boundaries, I am keen for iREPORTit to be used by as many people as possible which is why we created a nationally available free app and promoted this through national stakeholders, including in local government and through the national PCC network.
I would like other areas of policing to consider the use of the technology that underpins the iREPORTit app and MOPAC have contacted other relevant crime areas of the MPS (including Hate Crime, CSE and Fraud) asking them to consider its use in their areas. Furthermore, the CTIRU have showcased iREPORTit to international policing partners.

Cycleway 9 (7)

Tony Devenish: Please explain why the temporary cycle lane around the Hammersmith Gyratory was removed and please provide a copy of the assessment document that justified the decision to remove it.

The Mayor: The temporary cycle lane around Hammersmith Gyratory was introduced at the start of the pandemic by Hammersmith and Fulham Council as an emergency measure to make it safer to cycle. The gyratory is a well-known casualty hotspot for cycling in west London, and it is a hostile and intimidating junction for even those who are confident cycling.
The temporary cycle lane was located on the inside of the gyratory and extended the whole way around the gyratory. Because of the position of the cycle lane, cyclists found it difficult to access because of the need to cross three lanes of traffic. In addition, no changes at junctions were made for cyclists, which meant that some cyclists found the cycle lanes difficult or confusing to use. As lockdown restrictions were eased and traffic levels increased, the temporary changes were starting to cause delays forbusesand other traffic.
In July 2021, Hammersmith and Fulham Council took a decision to introduce an upgraded two-way experimental protected cycle lane on the north side of the gyratory (with no changes to the road on the other sides of the gyratory), which had been evaluated as providing a more convenient route for cyclists. These changes have been carefully designed to ensure that the impacts to bus journey times and other traffic are minimised. In the light of this decision, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham removed the temporary cycle lane.

Cycleway 9 (6)

Tony Devenish: In implementing the C9 scheme, please provide me with the cycling usage data used to justify the investment in the scheme, including data on the usage of the temporary cycle lane that was set up around the Hammersmith Gyratory during the pandemic and subsequently removed.

The Mayor: My Transport Strategy set out a target for 80 per cent of all journeys to be made on foot, by bicycle or on public transport by 2041. I have also set out ambitious and much needed targets to make London’s streets safer for the large numbers of people that already cycle in our capital. The delivery of Cycleway 9 from Brentford to Kensington Olympia is a key project that Transport for London (TfL) has committed to deliver to help increase cycling and make it significantly safer. At the start of the pandemic, TfL published an updated Strategic Cycling Analysis that highlighted that the delivery of a temporary version of Cycleway 9 was a high priority.
Prior to the construction starting to make Hammersmith Gyratory safer and more attractive for cycling, over 2,800 cyclists per day have been recorded travelling through this hostile and intimidating junction. Given there are no safe protected cycle lanes at this location, I am expecting many more cyclists and pedestrians to benefit from these changes which I think cannot come soon enough.

Statutory Sick Pay

Onkar Sahota: Do you agree that the Government should raise Statutory Sick Pay to match the London Living Wage for workers in the capital to ensure higher self-isolation compliance and that those who are too unwell to work can meet the rising costs of living and avoid falling into debt and rent arrears?

The Mayor: Yes. The government, and not struggling employers, need to step up to meet the cost of providing this support.
Many Londoners are reliant on the government’s Statutory Sick Pay if they are told to self-isolate and the current rate of £96.35 does not reflect the capital’s cost of living. The government should raise the weekly Statutory Sick Pay rate to the weekly equivalent of the London Living Wage and put workers’ wellbeing first.
No-one should be penalised for doing the right thing because of financial necessity and following government advice to self-isolate or quarantine. The government has advised that Londoners should work from home where possible; but many front-line workers cannot do so. I am concerned that many of these workers continue to be adversely affected by the government’s inaction to address inadequate Sick Pay provision.

CO2 monitors in London’s schools

Onkar Sahota: Do you know which schools in London have received CO2 monitors from the Department for Education so far?

The Mayor: As of 10 December, the Department for Education (DfE) confirmed that over 99 per cent of eligible schools and colleges in England, and the majority of early years settings, have received their CO2 monitors.
The DfE publishes cumulative CO2 delivery statistics for England which are updated every two weeks
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/co2-monitors-cumulative-delivery-statistics/2021-week-48
The DfE does not publish data on the number of London schools that have received CO2 monitors. Please see Mayor’s Question 2021/4306 for further information.

Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme (2)

Siân Berry: Thank you for your answer to my question 2021/4086. Could you: a) provide me with the numbers of homes that received improved electric heating, b) give details of what these measures comprised, c) provide the number of homes that had solar photovoltaic panels installed, and d) tell me where you publish the data for carbon savings through this programme?

The Mayor: As at the end of October 2021 (the latest available data), through Local Authority Delivery schemes 1a & 1b the following applies:
GLA collates data on carbon savings across all programmes, which is reported to my office and shared with the Assembly. These data will be available from Q3 2021/22. We do not report separately on the carbon savings on fuel poverty programmes.

Empty shops in London (2)

Siân Berry: Thank you for your answer to my question 2021/4055. Could you provide me with the observed data on empty shops from the ‘snapshots’ taken since 2013, broken down by the total number per borough and by the percentage of total units per borough?

The Mayor: The data purchased from the Local Data Company is licenced for internal GLA analysis only. If one of the Green Party researchers would like to contact Paul Hodgson in the City Intelligence Unit, we can provide the borough summaries, however, this data could not then be passed to third parties or made public.

London Progression Collaboration

Shaun Bailey: How many apprenticeships have you created through the London Progression Collaboration?

The Mayor: The London Progression Collaboration has so far delivered 653 apprenticeship starts, with more in the pipeline. It has also increased use of levy funds in London, mainly for the benefit of small and medium-sized businesses, by about £9m. The success of the London Progression Collaboration model and the results achieved have persuaded the government to adopt its key components for roll-out as national policy.

London Progression Collaboration Funding

Shaun Bailey: How much funding have you committed to the London Progression Collaboration?

The Mayor: I have committed £350,000 across 2019-2022 to support the London Progression Collaboration. The programme has helped a wide range of small and medium sized businesses to offer quality apprenticeships and has increased funds available to them to do this through levy transfers of over £9m.

Apprenticeship Advisory Group

Shaun Bailey: What has the Apprenticeship Advisory Group achieved since you became Mayor?

The Mayor: The Apprenticeship Advisory Group was convened to deliver my Apprenticeship for Londoners programme, ensuring that the apprenticeship system works for London’s businesses.
This included establishing my flagship apprenticeship programme - the London Progression Collaboration – which has facilitated the transfer of over £9m of unspent apprenticeship levy to create hundreds of new apprenticeships in key sectors across the capital.
HM Government has made several changes to the apprenticeship system aligned to the Apprenticeship Advisory Group’s lobbying asks, including increasing the amount of unspent levy that can be transferred and increasing the employer incentive to recruit new apprenticeships.
As the Apprenticeship Advisory Group achieved its objectives, the group was disbanded at the end of my first Mayoral term in May 2021.
Going forward, the Skills for Londoners Board and Skills for Londoners Business Partnership will oversee the GLA’s work on apprenticeships.